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Stamp collecting leaves its marks on local hobbyists

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Janesville's Gary Wentworth keeps numerous thick albums with his collection of stamps and collectable envelopes.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

A page of United States stamps from 1898 in one of Gary Wentworth's albums. Cancelled stamps, which are usually less valuable, are often pasted into books. Unused stamps are generally more valuable and displayed in pockets.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

This letter in Gary Wentworth's collection was sent in 1793 before letter carriers. The letter is simply addressed to the Town of Pallentine on the Mowhawk river.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Stamp collector Gary Wentworth's favorite stamp is this $1. stamp showing a cow in a blizzard. Wentworth could have purchased the stamp as a child but waited until he was an adult to own one.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Gary Wentworth has collected examples of the first two stamps issued by the United States. The first (below) and second stamps are still on the letters that carried them.

JANESVILLE — Gary Wentworth started collecting stamps when he was a boy.

By the time he was in his 20s, the hobby had made such an impression that he decided to get serious about it.

Today, the 64-year-old Janesville man has hundreds of thousands of stamps in his collection.

He’s a member and long-time secretary/treasurer of the Janesville Stamp Club, an organization he joined so long ago he can’t even remember what year it was.

At its peak, the club had about 40 members. It now holds steady at about 15 members from Janesville, Beloit and Rockford, Ill.

For 51 years, the club has sponsored an annual exhibition and bourse. This year’s was Feb. 14 at the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville. Club members attend similar stamp shows and exchanges in Rockford in March and Madison in April.

For those not devoted to the hobby, it might be difficult to understand the draw of stamp collecting.

For Wentworth, it’s simple.

“I love history,” he said, sitting at an antique table in the dining room of his home.

Wentworth is not alone in his devotion.

Hobby for all ages

Aimee Devine and her 7-year-old son Thomas also enjoy stamp collecting.

“It’s been a great way for Thomas to learn about U.S. history,’’ Aimee said.

Aimee, 38, Janesville, collected stamps when she was younger. Thomas got interested after he found her stamp book. The two attended their first Janesville Stamp Club meeting last year.

“It’s been very helpful,’’ she said.

In addition to getting questions answered, the Devines have been able to buy stamps for reasonable prices at the stamp auctions held at the end of each stamp club meeting.

“We had been ordering them (online), but their prices were outrageous,’’ Aimee said.

Thomas took Wentworth’s advice and is focusing on collecting a particular type of stamps—those from the United States.

Aimee agreed that’s wise.

“Otherwise, it could get too overwhelming,’’ she said.

Thomas just started collecting transportation stamps, including those that have airplanes, trains and hot air balloons on them, Aimee said.

The Devines earlier this year attended their first stamp exhibit hosted by the Janesville Stamp Club.

“It was very helpful. Because of the dealers there, we were able to get a lot of stamps. One dealer even had a box of stamps for 3 cents. We could dig through and pick out the ones we needed,’’ Aimee said.

Getting started

Wentworth has one simple piece of advice for others thinking about starting to collect stamps: “Don’t try to collect them all. You’re never going to do it.”

There are hundreds of ways to collect stamps, Wentworth said.

You can collect by topic, such as sports, trains, soccer or football. Others might choose to collect stamps of U.S. Presidents or from countries around the world, he said.

“Pick a topic you enjoy and focus on that,” Wentworth said.

To learn the value of stamps, Wentworth advised contacting someone from the stamp club in addition to studying prices online.

“Watch what they’re selling them for, then you’ll have an idea,’’ he said.

Today, Wentworth collects stamps issued with the number 65.

“This stamp was issued in 1865,’’ he said, pulling it from his collection binder.

He also has a Charles Lindbergh collection but doesn’t collect those stamps anymore.

“I’ve got about 3,000 of them,’’ he said.

“It’s hard for me to find something related to him that I can afford,” Wentworth said. “So I can live without it.’’